Presentazione Trezza mod [modalit compatibilit ]

by Ambassador Carlo TREZZA

Chemical Weapons

Ancient to medieval times

�Chemical weapons have been used for millennia in

the form of poisoned spears and arrows.

�The earliest references to toxic weapons in western

litterature include the Ancient Greek myths (Hercules)

and Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

�“Laws of Manu” (c. 400 BC) forbids the use of poison

and fire arrows, but advises poisoning food and water.

�During the Peloponnesian war, Spartan forces besieging an

Athenian city placed a mixture of wood, pitch and sulfer under the

walls hoping that the smoke would incapacitate the Athenians.

�One of the earliest reactions to the use of chimical agents was

from Rome, with Roman jurists having been recorded as declaring

“armis bella non venenis geri”, meaning “war is fought with

weapons, not with poisons”.

�In 1672, during his siege of the city of Groningen, the Bishop of

Munster, employed devices intended to produce toxic fumes.

�In 1845 British troops in New Zeland fired shells against Maori

positions containing an unknown type of poison gas from cannon

and mortars. 2

World War I

�The first full-scale deployment of chemical warfare

agents was during the Second Battle of Ypres, April 22,

1915, when the Germans attacked French troops with

chlorine gas. Deaths were light, though casualties

relatively heavy.

�A total 50,965 tons of pulmonary, lachrymatory, and vescicant

agents were deployed by both sides of the conflict. Official

figures declare about 1,176,500 non-fatal casualties and 85,000

fatalities directly caused by chemical warfare agents during the

course of the war. Italy counted 60,000 non-fatal casualties and

5,000 fatalities.

�To this day unxeploded World War I-era chemical ammunition is

still uncovered when the ground is dug in former battle or depot

areas and continue to pose a threat to the civilian population. video

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Interwar years

�After World War I chemical agents were

occasionally used to subdue populations and

suppress rebellion.

�It is alleged that the British used chemical agents

in 1920 against the Arab and Kurdish opponents to

the British occupation

�The Bolsheviks are reported having employed

poison gas in 1921.

�During the Rif War in Spanish Morocco in 1921-1927,

combined Spanish and French forces dropped mustard gas

bombs in an attempt to put down the Berber rebellion.

�In 1935, Italian general Rodolfo Graziani used mustard

gas during the invasion in Ethiopia.

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World War II

�Despite article 171 of the Versailles Treaty, and a

resolution adopted against Japan by the League of Nations

on 14 May 1938, the Japanese Army frequently used

chemical weapons. Because of fear of retaliation however,

those weapons were never used against Westerners, but

against other Asians populations.

�Shortly after the end of WWI, Germany’s General Staff pursued a recapture of their preeminent

position in the chemical warfare and negotiated with the URSS to build a huge chemical weapon

plant.

�The Nazis developed and manufactured large quantities of several agents, but ultimately

decided not to use the new nerve agents, fearing a potentially devastating Allied retaliatory

nerve agent deployment.

�On the night of December 2, 1943, German bombers attacked the port of Bari sinking several

American ships - among them SS John Harvey - which was carrying mustard gas. The presence of

the gas was highly classified and authorities ashore had no knowledge of it - which increased the

number of fatalities.5

Cold War 1/2

�After WWII, the Allies recovered German artillery

shells containing German nerve agents, prompting

further research into nerve agents by all of the

former Allies.

�Although the threat of the global nuclear war was

foremost in the minds of most during the Cold War,

both the Soviet and the Western governments put

enormous resources into producing chemical and

biological weapons.

�There is some evidence suggesting that Vietnamese troops used phosgene gas

against Cambodian resistance forces in Thailand in 1984-85.

�Chemical weapons were allegedly used by Egypt during the North Yemen Civil War

from 1963 to 1967. The Egyptian government denied.

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Cold War 2/2

�The Iran-Iraq War began in 1980 when Iraq

attacked Iran. Early in the conflict, Iraq began to

employ mustard gas and tabun delivered by

bombs dropped from airplanes. About 100,000

Iranian soldiers were victims of Iraq’s chemical

attacks. Many were hit by mustard gas. Nerve gas

agents killed about 20,000 Iranian soldiers

immediately, according to official reports.

�Shortly before war ended in 1988, the Iraqi Kurdish village of Halabja was

exposed to multiple chemical agents, killing about 5,000 of the town’s 50,000

residents.

�During the Gulf War in 1991, Coalition forces began a ground war in Iraq. Despite

the fact that it did possess chemical weapons, Iraq did not use any chemical agents

against coalition forces. 7

Terrorists and Non-state actors 1/2

�For many terrorist organizations, chemical

weapons might be considered an ideal choice for

an attack: they are cheap, relatively accessible

and easy to transport.

�The first use of chemical agents by

terrorists against a general civilian

population was on June 27, 1994, when

Aum Shinrikyo [an apocalyptic group based

in Japan that believed it necessary to

destroy the planet] released sarin gas in

Matsumoto, killing eight and harming 200

people. The following year, Aum Shinrikyo

released sarin into the Tokyo subway system

killing 12 and injuring over 5,000.8

Terrorists and Non-state actors 2/2

�On 29 December 1999, four days after Russian forces began assault of Grozny, Chechen

terrorists exploded two chlorine tanks in the town. Because of the wind conditions, no Russian

soldiers were injured.

�In 2001, after carrying out the attacks in New York on September 11, the organization Al

Qaeda announced that they were attempting to acquire radiological, biological, and chemical

weapons.

�In early 2007 multiple terrorist bombings have been reported in Iraq using chlorine gas.

These attacks have wounded or sickened more than 350 people.

�Unspecified agents have been used as a counter-terrorism means: on October 26, 2002,

Russian special forces used a chemical agent in an assault on Chechen terrorists, ending the

Moscow theater hostage crisis. All 42 of the terrorists and 120 of the hostages were killed

during the raid.

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Features of Chemical Weapons 2/2

�Altough there have been many advances in

chemical weapon delivery since World War I, it is still

difficult to achieve effective dispersion.

�The dissemination is highly dependent on

atmospheric conditions because many chemical

agents act in gaseous form. Thus, weather

observations and forecasting are essential to optimize

weapon delivery and reduce the risk of injuring

friendly forces.

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Efforts to eradicate chemical weapons 1/2

�August 27, 1874: The Brussels declaration: Concerning

the Laws and Customs of War is signed, specifically

forbidding the “employment of poison or poisoned

weapons”.

�Septemebr 4, 1900: The Hague Conference, which

include a declaration banning the “use of projectiles the

object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiathing or

deleterious gases”, enters into force.

�February 6, 1922: After World War I, the Washington

Arms Conference treaty prohibited the use of

asphyxiating , poisonous or other gases. It was signed by

the United States, France and Italy, but France objected to

other provisions in the treaty and it never went into

effect.

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�1925 Geneva Protocol banned their use in war. September 7,

�1929: The Geneva Protocol enters into force, prohibiting the use of poison gas.

�1984, US President Regan called for an international ban on chemical weapons.

�1990:US President Gerorge H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Michail Gorbachev signed a

bilateral treaty to end chemical weapon production and start destroying each of their

nation’s stockpiles.

�1993:Convention on the Proibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC): total prohibition,

stockpile destruction, verification, challenge inspections.

�Organization on the prohibition of Chemical Weapons based in The Hague (OPCW).

Member States.184

�Non-signatory States: North Korea, Egypt, Somalia, Angola…

�Signatory but not-ratifying States: Israel, Burma…

Efforts to eradicate chemical weapons 2/2

The Geneva Protocol and Chemical Weapons Convention

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Chemical Weapons Convention 2/2

�There are other chemicals used militarily that are not forbidden by the Chemical Weapons

Convention. These include:

Defoliants that destroy

vegetation, but are not

immediately toxic to

human beings.

Incendiary or explosive

chemicals (such as

napalm) because their

destructive effects are

primarly due to fire or

explosive force, and not

direct chemical action.

Viruses and bacteria, or

other organisms. Their use

is classified as biological

warfare. Toxins are

covered by the Biological

Weapons Convention.

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